Fall Bred Heifers For Sale by 4J Family Cattle

4J Family Cattle is offering an outstanding set of 14 fall bred heifers for sale.  Several have been A.I. bred to Special Delivery, ZNT Triple X, and ZNT Montego Bay, and the remainder were exposed and bred to Montego Bay from 11/15/11 to 1/6/12.  All heifers have been ultrasounded for pregnancy confirmation, and are ready for immediate delivery.  Call or text Zane for any questions you may have at 817-233-9357, or email at zntcattle@gmail.com

Link to Bred Heifer Advertisement- click here

Ft Worth Maine Anjou Shows and Events

I know everyone can look up these dates, but I thought I would put together a quick summary for any of those out there wanting to check out one of the many events involving the Maine Anjou cattle at the Ft Worth Stock Show.

Saturday, January 22nd:

9:00 am Texas Jr. Maine Anjou Association Meeting

9:00 am Silent Auction begins for the Texas Maine Anjou Association

Sunday, January 23rd:

8:00 am Junior Maine Anjou Show

Wednesday, January 26th:

Maine Anjou open show cattle begin moving in

Saturday, January 29th:

10:00 am Texas Maine Anjou Association Board Meeting - French Room

4:00 pm Maine Anjou Social Gathering

Sunday, January, 30th:

9:00 am Maine Anjou Open Show (Mainetainers, High Percentage, then Fullbloods)

12:00 pm Bidding Closes on TMAA Silent Auction

3:00 pm Maine Anjou open show cattle released

Conscious Effort

Genetic defects are not a new subject, and there have been hundreds of commentaries out there discussing it. Now it's my turn to talk.

Since our cattle operation is concentrated mainly around Maine Anjou and Chianina genetics, we have great exposure to the risks of the genetic defects PHA and TH within our herd. ZNT Cattle has made a conscious effort to not have carrier cows in our herd, and to not breed to carrier bulls. That being said, we are not immune to the fact that these defects are out there, and some cattle may be mis-represented, either by mistake or on purpose, as to be free of defects. Thank goodness for testing!

There is a bigger issue to this than just having 1 or 2 show heifers that need to be tested to see if they are carriers or not. Just because some of these carrier cattle go on to be shown, and enter into registered herds where they can be tested and bred accordingly, doesn't mean this is where all the carrier cattle go. Hundreds, or even thousands of these "reject" cattle are making it into the commercial herds every year, either through the sale barn, or maybe through a neighbor selling to a neighbor. The typical commercial man does not have the time to keep track of every genetic defect out there, nor do they have the money to test their entire herd for every defect that comes along. And they should NOT have to!

It is the moral responsibility of seedstock producer and multiplier herd to reduce, or even better, eliminate genetic defects from their breed. I understand that it may not be financially feasible to just eliminate these cattle from their herd, but they do have the choice to make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of carrier cattle their herd produces.

Simple Genetic Lesson: Same applies to TH
PHA Free Bull x PHA Free Cow =
100% PHA Free Calves (Normal calf with no recessive genetic defect gene)

PHA Carrier Bull x PHA Free Cow =
50% PHA Carrier Calves (Normal calf but has recessive genetic defect gene)
50% PHA Free Calves (Normal calf with no recessive genetic defect gene)

PHA Free Bull x PHA Carrier Cow =
50% PHA Carrier Calves (Normal calf but has recessive genetic defect gene)
50% PHA Free Calves (Normal calf with no recessive genetic defect gene)

PHA Carrier Bull x PHA Carrier Cow =
25% Dead Calf and possible dead cow (lethal combo of 2 recessive genetic defect genes)
50% PHA Carrier Calves (Normal calf but has recessive genetic defect gene)
25% PHA Free Calves (Normal calf with no recessive genetic defect gene)

Stock Show Time

Not only is January the start of a new calendar year, but it is also the kick off to another exciting year in the cattle industry. What better way to start off the year than the National Western Stock Show. Denver becomes the Mecca of the cattle industry for the first 3 weeks of the new year. What happens at Denver sets the pace for the entire rest of the year. New sires are introduced, upcoming bull sales are promoted, and every livestock manufacturer and advertising group is throwing their hat in the ring to get a piece of the pie. Growing up just 4 hrs from Denver, made the NWSS the highlight of every winter for me, and I do miss going, but it is no longer practical for me to make it every year now that I live in Texas.

BUT! Now that I am in Texas, I get to attend and participate in the Ft.Worth Stock Show every year starting the 3rd week of January, and lasting 3 weeks. It may not be Denver, but it sets the pace for the subsequent majors throughout the spring here in Texas. It is truly a sight to see. For those that don’t buy the whole “Everything is Bigger in Texas” have to attend just one Jr. Heifer Show or Steer Show to see that some things just are BIGGER here! Ft. Worth is somewhat the Showcase of the South, bringing together many of the top breeders in the South, and throughout the country for that matter.

I hope everyone involved in the cattle industry gets a chance to attend one of these great events, if not this year, at least once in their life. We will be at Ft. Worth, so feel free to stop by and say “hello.” We will be posting on our website and Facebook where we are stalled.

Happy Stock Showing!

Montego Bay Steer Prospect

October Montego Bay x CTR Sweet Success steer prospect. Many more steer and heifer prospects arriving through the spring.

Quote about ZNT Triple X

Thank you to Chambero on Steerplanet for giving this report on the functionality of ZNT Triple X as, not only a proven easy calving sire, but also as a bull that will produce females great maternal abilities.

"Good luck on the calves.  For what its worth, the babies out of some of the Triple X heifers we calved out this fall are starting to work theirselves to the top of that group of our calves.  They look like they are going to make good mommas." - Chambero

Latest Montego Bay Offspring Pics

Here are a few fall born heifers that were all sired by Montego Bay.  The first two were born unassisted out of first calf heifers, and the third is an embryo calf out of our CTR Sweet Success 2 (Success x Traveler 6807) donor cow.  Montego Bay is not only a tested and proven easy calving sire, but as you can see from the pictures, he is stamping them the tons of muscle and hair, and loaded with style and soundness.  Contact SEK, Cattle Vision, or Bull Barn Genetics to place your semen order for this spring.

2012 Ft Worth Stock Show

You can find us, and 4J Family Cattle in Barn 3 at the Ft. Worth Stock Show.  We are located right beside Sullivan Supply Co.

Top Cattle Videos By ZNT

Thank you to everyone that has taken time to watch my videos. Here are the top 3 videos produced by ZNT.

#1 - Cattle Torching (5,394 views)

#2 - Heat Detection Video (2,640 views)

#3 - A.I. Gun Preparation (2,416 views )

It is getting to be time for use to put out another video. What would you like to see us do next? You can comment on this blog, or post your suggestion to my Facebook page.

Two Weeks 'Til Ft. Worth

In two weeks we will be set up at the Ft. Worth Stock Show with 4J Family Cattle for the National Maine Anjou Show.  Make sure to stop by our stall to say hello, and check out this great set of High Percentage, Fullblood, Mainetainer, and even a Chimaine that we will have on display.

We will be updating on Facebook and Twitter where you can find us in the barns.

See you in Cowtown!